Dan,

>I don't see the new license agreement as being a penalty. They have to act upon it first. Plus I don't think they are going to randomly go into places and audit. I think they would want a cause first. After all, they still have to pay for it. Unless you're guilty. :-)

What about security? Their EULA (which probably wouldn't stand up in court if it came down to it...such ridiculous language would get thrown out) gives the right to look over any and all systems during an audit. Who's to say the audit will proceed without valuable data being stolen or viewed? You think Borland or the BSA would even be able to be brought up on charges if a competitor "coincidentally" acquired some confidential information? Probably not. Your harmless little audit could turn into a business-breaking fiasco. Who is responsible for that risk?

And if they only go after the guilty, then why can't they just follow normal law-enforcement paths? Get a warrant and proceed with the search. Borland is attempting to build a search warrant into their EULA. It's preposterous.

>Sounds like everything is going to a subscription. You no longer "buy" a version. But you are right. If they are making it a subscription then they should make it official. I too expect fixes, unless told otherwise.

Sure.

>I don't know if its unethical and immoral. It's a company doing what it feels neccessary to protect it's stockholders. You made your choice not to buy. That's fine. I just hope you made your choice because of product quality, service, features, etc., and not because Borland has taken steps to protect itself from pirates and the like. Imagine being the CEO at Borland: Gotta take care of the stockholders and at the same time you don't want to disenfranchise the law biding customers. What a deal.

So, a company's only ethical obligation is to its stockholders? Those are some big, ultra-capitalist words. So then what is wrong with a company getting a monopoly and charging whatever they wish. It's good for the stockholders, right? Why are monopolies illegal?

Borland can make a lot more money by simply building innovative products and charging a fair price. Sorry, but piracy has far ans away always been the least of Borland's woes.

JoeK